Construction Start:     Fall 2004

Construction End:       Spring 2006

Cost:                               $4.3 Million

The Kiwanis Family House parking lot construction is complete and construction is under way for a new, $4.3 million Kiwanis Family House that will replace the original facility at 48th and V Streets.

The new home, to be located on 50th street south of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, will accommodate 32 families. The current home has 13 rooms and must turn away about 10 families a day due to a lack of space.

Since its opening in 1984, the Kiwanis Family House has housed more than 10,000 families from around the United States and the world. The house provides temporary quarters for families of patients at the medical center, mostly children, who live in other communities where the specialized care they need is not available.

The medical center has donated the land for the house and also pays for its utilities, provides linens, landscaping, janitorial services and $18,000 annually for operating expenses. Families also have free shuttle service to the hospital and a staff of volunteers to help them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To qualify for housing, families must live at least 35 miles from the hospital. Rent is $15 a night and is waived for some families.